A TEENAGER from Ruislip whose single punch caused a minicab driver permanent brain damage has been jailed for three years.

Anthony Panayi, 18, of Eastcote Road, was sentenced today (Tuesday) at the Old Bailey after he had been convicted of grevious bodily harm at his trial in January.

Panayi admitted throwing the punch at Bridgwater Road on March 19 last year, but denied deliberately causing the injuries to 40-year-old Muhsin Ahktar, a father of two young children.

Although he was convicted of GBH, the former Bishop Ramsey School pupil was found not guilty of wounding with intent, lessening the sentence that was given to him.

Detective chief inspector Tim Duffield, of the homicide and serious crime command at the Met Police, said: "This case should serve as a reminder that if you chose to use your fists to settle a disagreement, the consequences are life-changing for both the victim and the person who throws the punch.

"The MPS will do everything in its power to catch those who use violence on our streets and bring them before the courts to face justice."

Panayi had been part of a group of five teenagers who were out drinking in the West End on Friday March 18 2011 and later took a cab journey home that ended in tragedy.

All five had originally been charged with attempted murder after the attack, but the cases against four were dropped after it emerged that only Panayi had struck Mr Ahktar.

The mincab driver, from south London, was knocked unconscious by the blow and remained in a coma for nearly three months. It was only down to the work of highly skilled surgeons that he was able to reawaken.